Not only is this precious hand-written document, on about 235 vellum leaves, an essential source of early English law and custom, but few books have endured and survived the travails of this one.

It has been rebound many times and has even survived a swim in the Thames. The official records show that until the 1900s, this priceless artifact of British history was borrowed many times, as any library book, and often on payment of some kind of security. On one occasion legal action was required to retrieve the book from a doctor who had unknowingly bought it from an inn keeper.

Many of the borrowers added annotations in the margins.

The document is held and beautifully photographed in 2004, said photographs available at the website for the archives of the Medway Council. These modern custodians describe Textus Roffensis as:

"The compilation represents the first documentary evidence of the compromises made between the new Norman rulers and their indigenous English subjects, hinting at a convergence rather than a collision between the English language and English laws on the one hand and Romance laws and language on the other."

The Textus Roffensis recorded many ancient laws such as those of Wihtred and Alfred the Great, as best they could be rembered by the locals, and otherwise in great danger of being lost to history forever.

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Duhaime Lawisms

Sir Thomas Holt hath taken a cleaver and striken his cook upon the head, so that the one side of the head fell upon one shoulder, and the other upon the other shoulder.
White v Brough, 1 Rolle 286 (circa 1615))

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Unless otherwise noted, this article was written by Lloyd Duhaime, Barrister, Solicitor, Attorney and Lawyer (and Notary Public!). It is not intended to be legal advice and you would be foolhardy to rely on it in respect to any specific situation you or an acquaintance may be facing. In addition, the law changes rapidly and sometimes with little notice so from time to time, an article may not be up to date. Therefore, this is merely legal information designed to educate the reader. If you have a real situation, this information will serve as a good springboard to get legal advice from a lawyer.